DOT-111 tank car

Tank cars built to this specification must be circular in cross section, with elliptical, formed heads set convex outward.

A November 2013 derailment near Aliceville, in Pickens County, Alabama involved a similar explosion of North Dakota crude oil.

The train originated in Amory, Mississippi and was scheduled for a pipeline terminal in Walnut Hill, Florida that is owned by Genesis Energy.

[16] In the third quarter of 2013, crude-by-rail shipments rose 44 percent from the previous year to 93,312 carloads, equivalent to about 740,000 barrels per day or almost one tenth of U.S.

[15] That was down 14 percent from the second quarter of 2013 due to narrower oil spreads that made costlier rail shipments less economic.

The draft sill center plate serves as the attachment point between the tank car body and the truck assembly.

[32] In addition, on February 6, 2011, the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) investigated the derailment of a unit train of DOT-111 tank cars loaded with ethanol in Arcadia, Ohio, which released about 786,000 US gallons (2,980,000 L; 654,000 imp gal) of product.

[33] The Transportation Safety Board of Canada also noted that this car's design was flawed resulting in a "high incidence of tank integrity failure" during accidents.

[8] The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSBC) investigated a derailment incident near Westree, Ontario which occurred on 30 January 1994.

Transport Canada determined that a retrofit of the top fittings of all Class 111A cars would exceed one billion dollars.

[35] The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSBC) investigated an occurrence near River Glade, New Brunswick which occurred on 11 March 1996.

[36] An investigative report published 3 August 2013 by the Brandon Sun listed 10 railway derailments in the area over the past decade.

[38][39] The United States National Research Council was commissioned via the US Hazardous Materials Transportation Uniform Safety Act (1990) by the Federal Railroad Administration to write an impartial report on "(1) the railroad tank car design process, including specifications development, design approval, repair process approval, repair accountability, and the process by which designs and repairs are presented, weighed, and evaluated, and, (2) railroad tank car design criteria, including whether head shields should be installed on all tank cars that carry hazardous materials."

[41] One issue raised by the Lac-Mégantic derailment, and substantiated by Enbridge complaints to the US regulator, is that Bakken crude oil is associated with a notable volatility.

[42] The US Federal Railroad Administration moved on 8 August 2013 to tighten standards for shipments of crude oil from the Bakken formation fields that contain volatile and/or corrosive chemicals, such as may issue from the hydraulic fracturing process.

[45] The academic community commented in 2011 that increased concentration of H2S was observed in the field and presented challenges such as "health and environmental risks, corrosion of wellbore, added expense with regard to materials handling and pipeline equipment, and additional refinement requirements".

[47] Thirteen DOT-111 tank cars lost about 324,000 US gallons (1,230,000 L; 270,000 imp gal) of ethanol contaminating a tributary of the Rock River resulting in one of the largest fish kills in Illinois history.

As a result of an accident in Cherry Valley, Illinois, in 2009, the Association of American Railroads studied several options for increasing the crashworthiness of DOT-111 tank car designs and published new construction standards in a Casualty Prevention Circular, with the intent to revise the AAR Manual for Standards and Recommended Practices for tank cars that are used to transport ethanol and crude oil.

The NTSB has called that design "inadequate," noting the older cars are "subject to damage and catastrophic loss of hazardous materials.

"[33] In May 2015, the Federal Railroad Administration and Transport Canada jointly announced the new DOT-117 specification to supersede the DOT-111 design for all flammable class products, of which all examples would be required to be retired or rebuilt by May 2025.

[48] This article incorporates public domain material from Unclassified Safety Recommendation R-12-005-008, March 2, 2012 (PDF).

A DOT-111 tank car, specification 111A100W1, constructed by fusion welding carbon steel . This car has a capacity of 30,110 US gallons (113,979 L; 25,071.8 imp gal), a test pressure of 100 psi (690 kPa), a tare weight of 65,000 pounds (29,500 kg) and a load limit of 198,000 pounds (89,800 kg).
AAR Plate-C loading gauge. [ 6 ] [ 7 ]
A damaged DOT-111A tank car. Note the AAR Type E double shelf coupler required for transporting dangerous goods .
Two different 111A100W1 specification tank cars, both with 263,000-pound (119,000 kg) gross rail load . On the left is a 27,399-US-gallon (103,716 L; 22,814.4 imp gal) capacity tank car with a load limit of 196,500 pounds (89,100 kg), making it suitable for low specific gravity liquids. On the right, a lighter, smaller 16,640-US-gallon (62,989 L; 13,856 imp gal) capacity tank car has a higher load limit of 204,300 pounds (92,700 kg). It is stenciled and placarded for 50% sodium hydroxide aqueous solution , which has a specific gravity of 1.5. This car is also equipped with an insulating jacket and external heating pipes to melt frozen contents if necessary.
An older DOT-111 tank car manufactured in 1967 shown as it appeared in 1996. This car was equipped with an insulating jacket and had a capacity of 20,670 US gallons (78,200 L; 17,210 imp gal).